APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) Short Interest Update

APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,430,000 shares, a drop of 11.8% from the August 15th total of 15,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On APA

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in APA by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 10,692 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in APA in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in APA by 128.4% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 27,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 15,684 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in APA by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,841,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,093,000 after acquiring an additional 345,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 297,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of APA from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on APA from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of APA in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of APA from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.67.

APA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APA traded up $0.23 on Monday, hitting $24.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,723,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,241,285. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 3.24. APA has a 52-week low of $22.72 and a 52-week high of $43.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.71 and a 200 day moving average of $30.27.

APA (NASDAQ:APA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.22. APA had a net margin of 32.66% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. APA’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that APA will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.